LYNN — The Lynn English girls basketball team (6-3) led Lynn Classical (10-0) 40-34 with three minutes remaining, but once the final buzzer sounded, the visiting Rams were the ones standing with a 44-42 victory on Thursday night, extending their winning streak to 10.
Classical’s Ava Thurman, who Rams’ head coach Tom Sawyer called “an unbelievable competitor,” sparked the run. She connected on a short jumper followed by a steal-and-score, cutting English’s lead to 40-39 with less than two minutes remaining.
“Her desire to compete is her biggest strength,” Sawyer said. “She’s flying all over the floor – she’ll do whatever it takes.”
Then came the lead. The Rams’ Akiyah Brown put in a layup off the glass to put Classical ahead 41-40 with 50 seconds remaining. Thurman was sent to the line afterwards, and calmly sank two free throws to extend the lead to 43-40 with 23.5 seconds on the clock.
After an English layup and a Classical free throw, the Bulldogs had one final chance, but a half-court shot hit the rim. The sound was music to Classical’s ears, and a heartbreaker for host English.
“It takes intensity and effort to win games, and [the] kids wouldn’t be denied at the end,” Sawyer said. “They made just enough plays to win.”
Despite the loss – and second this season to Classical – English head coach Travonne Berry-Rogers walked with his head held high and applauded the “great atmosphere.”
“That’s what you want: rivalry basketball,” Berry-Rogers said.
With players diving for loose balls and clapping from the sideline, it was a game of runs. The first quarter was all Classical, the second was all English, and neither team could pull away in the second half.
“That’s literally the definition of basketball: a game of runs,” Berry-Rogers said. “That fourth quarter hurt us. We had a shot at the end to make a play, but we missed the opportunity.”
Whenever English and Classical face off, players hit the floor a little harder, and rip the ball a little tougher. Until the very end, that’s exactly what Thursday night was.
“Number one, keep your composure, but number two, play hard,” Sawyer said. “If you keep your focus and keep your composure, you’re giving yourself a chance to win.”
Lauren Wilson led Classical with 12 points, while Thurman and Brown each had 10. Keisha Perez chipped in with eight. For English, Matty Laurino impressed with 17 points while Jayleen Novas-Rivera tacked on eight.
After Perez scored the first six points of the game, Classical jumped ahead 16-7 after one, but the English three ball was the difference-maker in the second. English’s Jari Perez connected on two in the frame, helping to put English ahead 25-23 at the half.
The third quarter was a defensive battle, highlighted by a play-of-the-game candidate in Wilson hustling back on defense to block a three-point shot. The quarter ended 29-28 in favor of Classical.
“These are two evenly-matched teams, so I think that’s just going to happen,” Sawyer said. “We didn’t do anything different; I don’t think they did anything different.”
With iPhones recording and student-sections buzzing, the intense fourth quarter went to the visiting Rams who moved to 10-0 with the victory.
“What a great environment,” Sawyer said.
